Okay
by Lola5995
Summary: She was in pain. Terrible pain. And nobody could be blamed for it but her. Can he help her?   My first fanfic. Review :


Hermione propped herself upon a desk in the abandoned classroom and looked out of the rusty window. She saw a dark cluster of trees overlooking the Black Lake, which looked like a sheet of glass. The sky was dark and moonless, dotted with stars; and the tiny specks of white were the only blemishes upon the otherwise perfect surface. A wandering owl fluttered over to the window sill, its melancholy hoot filling the void inside Hermione.  
>She was in pain. Terrible pain. And nobody could be blamed for it but her. It was essentially her own fault, she was the one who had ruined it for herself, and for others too. Harry, Ginny, Ron...<br>_Ron..._  
>A single tear rolled down her cheek and she bit back the urge to scream.<p>

"Granger?"  
>She spun around, simultaneously wiping her tear with her robes.<p>

"What do you want, Malfoy." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Are you all right?" Malfoy looked genuinely worried.

_Quite uncharacteristic of him. Is he really worried? Ha. As if. But he _has_ changed..._

"Gr-Hermione?"  
>Hermione. He'd just called her Hermione. That was definitely not normal.<br>_It's never quite been normal since that day at the library..._

_**FLASHBACK  
>"Granger, I'm sorry."<br>"Huh?"  
>"I said, I'm sorry."<br>"Wh-"  
>"I'm sorry for everything I've ever done. To be honest, I was rather mean to you for no reason whatsoever. It was Potter who I really dislike, and well, Weasel's a git too... But anyway... I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me."<br>Hermione just stared at him, mouth agape. Had Draco Malfoy just apologised to her?  
>"Granger!"<br>"Oh. Yes. Of course. It's all right Draco. That's the past. I truly believe you've changed. I mean, you betrayed Voldemort and then even helped us kill him. So really, don't apologise."  
>He gave her a big, dazzling smile.<br>"Thanks Granger."  
>And he was gone.<br>END OF FLASHBACK**_

"Hermione, are you all right?"  
>That's when she snapped back to reality. To all the pain and hurt. She just wanted to scream.<br>_All right? Of course I'm not all right. I don't know if I'll ever even be all right!_  
>"Yeah! Why do you ask?"<p>

The over-enthusiasm in her voice was evident.  
>"Hermione. What's wrong? Tell me. I know you're not okay." Draco walked towards her and raised a pale eyebrow.<br>Hermione struggled to maintain her composure and blinked back her tears. It was hard, partly because he kept calling her Hermione and not Granger.

"I'm fine, really."  
>Her lip quivered slightly as she attempted a smile, and Draco looked unconvinced.<p>

"Are you sure?"  
>"Of course! Why wouldn't I-" she broke off because by now, the tears were just pouring out of her eyes. She gasped and turned her back to him.<br>Draco's face had the expression of pure shock. He obviously didn't know what to do. He had never been around someone with so much pent up emotion. He was confused. But Hermione kept crying, each breath becoming more strained than the previous.

"Hermione, stop crying. Tell me what happened, please?" Draco was cautious, because he wasn't sure if he was about to cross a line. After all, they weren't really best of friends. They were just secretly library buddies. Hell, if Potty or Weasel found out, they would freak. They would possibly try to even hex him into oblivion. He could obviously take them, but why take the risk. But he had other worries right now. Like Hermione Granger crying her eyes out in front of him. And he didn't know if he should console her.

_Of course I should console her!_  
><em>But what if she thinks I'm being over-familiar?<br>She won't!  
>We've never shared anything like this before.<br>There's always a first time  
>but...<br>But everybody needs somebody to console them. And since nobody's here except you...  
>Oh come on!<em>

__He may regret this later on...  
>"Look," he reluctantly placed a hand on her shoulder. There was no apparent reaction from her at the touch. Or so it seemed to him. For Hermione, it was like a jolt of energy.<p>

"Hermione, whatever it is, it'll be fine. At least, I think so. I could even..."

He hesitated. She turned around and looked straight into his eyes. Blotchy brown met silvery grey.

"...help" he said, his voice suddenly hoarse for some reason.

Hermione gave him a weak smile. "No, its nothing."

She turned to face the window again.  
>"How is it nothing? You just cried in front of me." Draco was exasperated.<br>"Just...trust me. Its nothing."  
>"You can't be serious."<br>"But I am!"

Frustration was creeping onto his otherwise quite handsome face.

"Look. Do you think we're friends?"  
>This question surprised her.<br>_Friends... Could she use that term for him? Perhaps...  
><em>She hadn't thought of Draco as a friend before. Sure, they would joke around, make fun of Lavender Brown together in the library and even poke fun at each other. But was he a... Friend?  
><em>I suppose I could call him that. But...<em>

"Of course we're friends, Draco." she said, before she could change her mind.

_Friends..._  
>She liked the thought, and secretly smiled to herself.<p>

"W-well, so then tell me!" Draco stammered.  
>"WH-what?" Hermione turned her face, wearing a terribly confused expression. "Tell you what?"<p>

Draco just cocked an eyebrow and looked at her meaningfully.

"Oh." she blushed, embarrassed. "Just... Forget it."

_Merlin! Why won't she just tell me? God, this is frustrating! I want to help her! Can't she see that? And she's supposed to be the brightest witch of her age..._  
>"Fine. Then I guess you don't really consider me your friend." He gave her a grimace.<p>

"Of course not!" She said vehemently, her eyes shining with a fire he had never seen before. "Why would I not consider you my friend?"  
>There were so many thoughts going on inside her head.<br>_Why would he say that? HOW could he say that? He IS my friend! What's wrong with-_

"I don't know? Friends tell each other stuff." Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Merlin, its better off if you didn't know." Hermione said, as she was tearing up again.

"Please? I want to help."

_HELP? How do you plan to help, Draco Malfoy? NOBODY can help me!  
>Maybe he can...<br>NO!  
>Give him a chance? Its only right<br>_"Oh well."

And she poured her heart out to him. He sat in silence, listening to every word she said, never failing to read between the lines. She went on for about twenty minutes, but he patiently listened. He listened about Ron, the ultimate git, and finally knew why Hermione disliked Lavender as much as she did. He listened about her parents, and how torn she was when she realised that they didn't remember her. He listened about how society had always deemed her a bookworm, a nerdy goody two-shoes, never expecting any dynamism from her. He just listened.

After her rant ended, he stood up and walked from where he was to her. "Hermione," he looked at her with his piercing eyes. She shivered.

"Yes?" She said uncertainly. Had she already scared him off?

"It'll be okay, I promise." With that, he enveloped her into a long, comforting hug, and she felt secure. Tears were still streaming down her face, but neither seemed to notice.

After all, it was going to be okay.


End file.
